Miracle
by Angel2
Summary: This is a dramatic angsty romance. lol. Funny and carefree in the beginning then serious at the end. A weekend of fun turns out to be something else when Tai take Sora to a soccer banquet. lol I dont know, just read it yourself. I'm bad at summaries. ^^''


"Miracle"

By: Angel

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own them. Toei Animation does. So stop sending those scary people after me! Gaaaaaaaah! They're driving me nucking futs! ^_~

This fic took me almost a year... I've been working on this on and off for the past 9 months. And, ta da, here it is. ^^ Hopefully its _decent. _lol. Enjoy. :) 

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This is from a girl to a boy that evilly stole her heart. 

Happy 2 years.

Oh, and by the way, she tells me that she wants her heart back. 

She kinda needs it ya know. ^_~

"Miracle"

By: Angel

"Look Tai, this isn't a big deal" Sora said, rolling her eyes at the phone.

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"But Sora! She's totally freaking me out!"

"Since when do you come to me for advice with your sex life?"

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"Sora! I'm not asking you for help in that department thank you very much!" he said in a huff. 

She just laughed. "Good. Because I don't think I want to answer questions....." she shuddered. "Eww."

He laughed. _"Anyways. Look, I need some sort of way to let her down gently..."_

"_Gently_ being the key word here huh?"

__

"Yup"

"Just tell her that...well you guys aren't at that stage of the relationship yet...."

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"Oh...That sounds alright I guess..."

"Didn't you meet this girl a week ago?"

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"I did meet her a week ago!"

"Jeez...and _already_ she wants to... Damn!"

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"I know!"

"Heh. Yep. This is _classic_. She's one of those: "I'm determined to sleep with every guy on the soccer team" girls. And you're just the last one in line. Eww. Yeah she's got every disease imaginable. You can count on it. Talk about gross!"

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"Yuck. I never thought about her that way"

"Tai, that's cause you're _beyond_ dense...."

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"Oh shut up! Like you're so much better."

"Uh yeah. I'm not contemplating sleeping with some blond bimbo looking to gain a title..."

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"And what about what's-his-face from tennis camp?"

"OH SHUT UP! No turning the tables on me! Besides, nothing ended up happening anyway. Needless to say, I was thanking god..." she shuddered at the thought. "I am shuddering, I'd like you to know"

He just laughed. _"Anyways, back to my problems. So what should I do about Jenna?"_

"Jenna Jenna. Well, like I said, tell her you don't feel that you two are ready for that kind of a commitment..."

He sighed. _"I guess..."_

"Well that's all the advice I can give you"

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"Thanks Sora, you're great"

"Yeah well...I try."

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"I guess I'll talk to you later then"

"Alright"

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"Bye Sora"

"Cya Tai"

Sora hung up the phone and looked down at the notebook she had been scribbling in while on the phone with Tai. It was covered with "I love you's" and "I love ?"s 

"Heh. There's the whole non-existent-love thing getting at me again..." she sighed.

She picked up a ridiculous picture of her and Tai in "Charlie's Angels" positions in their senior picture attire: a dress top and a tuxedo top. Sora in board shorts and Tai in khaki cargo shorts.

She smiled a little. Then suddenly a strange thought crossed her mind. She began to wonder what it would be like to be together with Tai the way he and Jenna were at the moment. She had never really thought about them in that way, and the more she thought about it, the more scared she became. 

"Me and Tai? Gross.... He has cooties!" she laughed out loud before putting down the picture again.

She let herself fall onto her bed with a small laugh. She stared up at her ceiling with a sigh as she hugged herself happily. 

"Jenna is so stupid. She doesnt know what she's throwing away by being the way she is... She would never even begin to understand him... I mean...there's so much more to him that no girl would ever get... Guess you'd have to be in my shoes." she grinned a little, putting her hands beside her head. "Hah! I'd get the best of both worlds!"

She laughed and turned her head to the right towards her nightstand again. Suddenly, she let her vision focus on a picture that was tucked away in her open drawer. She stopped laughing and her smile faded. She reached in the drawer and pulled out the picture of Yamato and the rest of his band. She stared at it for a moment, in thought.

"Or he could be a real dick like you...." she muttered, crumpling the picture in her fist. 

She tossed him away just like she wanted to toss out her memory of him. 

"Oh, if it were only that easy...." She sighed and turned away from the crumpled picture.

~*~*~*~

"What?" the blond girl said, twirling the end of her hair and popping her gum.

"I said..." Tai said for the millionth time, this time rolling his eyes. "That its over..."

"What?"

He sighed in annoyance. "Look. Jenna, You're a really nice girl and all..."

"Wait. Is it over?" she said in shock, ceasing her hair twirling.

Tai almost fell over. "Its not you Jenna... It's me..." Tai said, forcing back a chuckle at the common line. 

"But Tai!" she protested. "I love you!"

He was struggling not to laugh. "I know Jenna.. I know... But there are many other guys out there that would love to get lai--err...loved.... by you...."

"Yeah?" she said, her eyes lighting up.

"Of course.... What about you and Mike the football player? What happened with the two of you? I always thought he loved you..."

"No... he was just in it for the sex..."

"Oh.... and Justin?"

"The sex..."

"And Bryan?"

"Mmm...." she thought a moment, then nodded. "The sex...yeah..." 

Tai could barely control his laughter as he patted her back consolingly. "Well then... There's always a right guy or girl for everyone... You'll find your guy someday... And he will love you and you will love him and it wont be just for the sex..."

"Really Tai? You really think so?" she looked up at him with gleaming eyes.

He just looked at her, his face ready to burst out in laughter. "Yes. Yes I do, Jenna."

"You really are a sweetheart Tai. Its just unfortunate that we cant be together anymore..."

"I know."

"Well I'll see you around sometime. Don't forget me if you ever get lonely..." she said with a seductive wink before turning around and walking away.

"Alright Jenna. You take care..."

He waited until she was out of earshot distance before bursting out into laughter. Sora walked up behind him from where she was standing.

"Nice job there Romeo..." Sora snickered, ruffling his hair.

"Why thank you... Damn! Did you _hear_ that crap?!" 

She laughed. "Yes. I told you she's a slut. But nooo... don't believe Sora..." she rolled her eyes at him and punched his arm playfully.

He laughed. "I believe you."

"Oh _now_ of course...after you hear it come out of her mouth..."

"Hey! I believed you on the phone..."

"Suuuure you did..." she smirked.

"Did so!"

"Don't worry about it moron, you didn't hurt my feelings any..."

"Right...brat" he said, sticking his tongue out at her.

"Oh don't get the verbal battle started...."

"And what are you going to do bout it?" he smirked.

"This!" 

The two of them got into the hugest tickle-fest in the middle of the lawn in the school's courtyard.

The bell rang. And the two of them were late.

~*~*~*~

"Way to go Tai. Getting us detentions" she spat out in annoyance as quietly as she could.

"You're the one that started it!" he protested in a half whisper.

"You're the one that started the whole verbal battle..." she whispered.

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

"Did not!" 

"Taichi Kamiya! Sora Takenouchi! Do you want another detention?" 

"No ma'am." They both mumbled at the teacher.

"Nice going Tai..." Sora muttered under her breath.

"You started it..." he muttered back.

The teacher glared at them again. They both fell silent.

~*~*~*~

"So yeah, thanks to goggle-head over here, we got detentions..." Sora said, rolling her eyes.

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"It wasn't my fault!" Tai protested over the speakerphone.

"Was to!"

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"Was not!"

"Was to!"

Her mother just chuckled. "Okay, okay... Easy there. You still got detentions"

"Yeah. So that's why I'm so late"

"Alright. Just get upstairs and finish your homework Sora. I need your help tonight at the shop."

"Alright Mama" Sora said, picking up the phone and hanging up the speakerphone. "Hello?"

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"Yeah, I'm here"

"Alright cool" Sora began her ascent up the stairs. "So...what'd ya call me for?"

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"Just to talk..."

"Okay... What do you want to talk bout?"

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"I don't know."

"Go figure" Sora rolled her eyes. "Its your turn anyways."

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"Is not!"

"Is so!" she yelled into the phone as she closed the door to her room.

~*~*~*~

"Come on Sora, come with me to my soccer banquet"

Sora was bent over some flowers. "Tai, I don't like getting all dressed up, you know that..."

"Please Sora? I was going with Jenna but then that whole... _thing _happened...."

"Whats in it for me? The grace of having you on a date?" she chuckled as she dug a hole with her gloved hands.

"Date? Its a... date?"

"Uh... I was just saying that..." 

"Oh..."

A long and uncomfortable silence followed. Sora stuck the new daisy plant in the hole she had begun.

"You mind if its not?" she offered. "I don't think I could use a date at the moment" She began to tenderly cover the earth around the daisy plant.

"Its okay with me. Can you deal with my soccer banquet?"

"I can try to. Sure." she smiled, getting up from the ground.

"Great. See you Saturday night... all dressed up." he chuckled.

"Ha ha. Laugh it up Kamiya... I'd like to see _you_ in a stuffy tux and we'll see who'll be laughing..." she smirked.

"Alright alright. No need to turn your pretty eyes into daggers" he chuckled again.

She laughed. "Whatever Kamiya. I'll see you Saturday night then" she said, walking away from him.

~*~*~*~

Tai stared at the photograph. Tears of hurt and anger welled up in his gorgeous chocolate brown eyes. 

He reached over and opened his drawer, rummaging through stuff till his hand finally felt the smooth edges of the book. He pulled it out and stared at it. His journal. Sora had bothered him when they were younger to start a journal with her so she wouldn't seem so girly....

Tai chuckled at the memory and opened the black book to a blank page. He turned so he was laying on his stomach. He put the open journal on his pillow along with the picture. He reached for a pen and began to write.

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Things haven't been going good for me these past few days... Jenna and I are over; she apparently just lusted after my body and the title it would gain her... Bitch...

I think this and my most current run-ins with love have made me more than skeptical as to whether or not I'll ever find someone who loves me for me... someone who loves _not lusts...._

  
I need a miracle....

Oh yeah, I asked Sora to my soccer banquet. After much sarcasm and smartass remarks and whining, she finally said she'd go with me. Its tomorrow night.

And no its not a date.

Tai closed the book and shoved it back in the messy drawer it came from. He looked at the picture. It was of him and Jenna all smiley and happy.... Tai almost wanted to puke. He rummaged through the drawer again only this time to find his lighter. He grinned as he imagined Sora calling him a "little pyro" as she usually had done when he brought out his lighter.

He stared at it first. It was a pretty damn nice lighter too. Sora had given it to him for his birthday a couple years back when he only had those crappy Bic lighters you find at the supermarket. It was blah blah, and he loved it. Maybe he loved it more for the fact that Sora had given it to him more than anything else... Just because she used to be all critical of him carrying around a lighter.... Not because _she_ gave it to him...

He mused at his thoughts and how confusing they sounded. Okay, _maybe_ it was because she gave it to him. So what? The point was, he liked the lighter. And now he would enjoy what he was going to do even more so.

He smirked as he flipped back the cap with his thumb and turned off the child safety lock; he was worried that his sister would find it one day. He reached for the garbage can and brought it close to the edge of the bed and stretched for the window and pushed it up, opening it. 

He lay on his bed, propping his body up with his elbows and held the lighter in his right hand and the picture in the left hand. He pondered something a moment, and put the lighter behind the photo right where Jenna's face was. With a flick of his thumb, the flame came out and slowly Jenna's face began to glow red. Slowly, the paint on the picture began to wrinkle, peel and crumple. 

"Burn bitch..." Tai growled at the picture as he held the lighter there.

It took a while, but finally, the picture had a hole where Jenna's face once was. Tai turned it off. He smirked in satisfaction and brought the lighter to the edge of the photo where Jenna was standing. He flicked the lighter on again and held it there as the edge caught on fire. He turned off the lighter, closed the cap, and put it on his night stand. He suddenly got an idea and reached for the phone, dialing the number, as he watched the picture burn.

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"Hello?"

"Hey Sora, its Tai. Whats up?"

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"Not much. You?"

"Oh I'm just here... Having a little... bon fire. Wondering if you'd like to come join me."

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"Oooh... Burning ex-girlfriends pics... I'm sooo in! I'll be there in a few"

"Alright cool. Hurry, your missing Jenna burn..."

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"Aww damn! You started without me?" she sighed. _"Jeez man. You need to control that pyro side of you" _she chuckled.  
He laughed. "I'm using your lighter. This is a very special occasion."

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"Wow. I'm honored to be invited." she said in mock-seriousness. 

They both burst out laughing. 

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"Ill see you in a few alright Tai?"

"Alright. Bye"

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"Bye"

He hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed, his eyes never leaving the slowly flaking edge of the picture.

~*~*~*~

Tai almost fell off the bed with the burning picture in his hand. "You scared the crap out of me!" Tai just laughed at her. "What the hell are you doing?"

Sora had thrown open the door to Tai's room and had begun sniffing the air dramatically, as if she was some sort of smell connoisseur.

Sora just held a finger to silence him and sniffed the air again. She barely could control her laughter.

"Aaah. The lovely smell of burning ex's" she said, laughing after her sentence. 

He just laughed. "Could you have taken any longer to get here?"

She pondered a moment. "Yeah.. Yeah I could have..."

"Smartass..." he grinned at her.

"I know." she smirked. "So whatcha been up to?"

"I'm still burning the same pic... I hate this, its taking too long..."

"Oh but that's the fun of it Tai... Watching them burn slowly..." she smirked.

"You know...when you say it that way... you really scare me Sora..." he chuckled. "But at the same time, its strangely...cute..."

She laughed. "I try."

She strolled over to his bed and sat down next to him. "How are we doing?" 

"Its just going really..._really _slow..." he handed her the picture.

She took it in her hands. "Not bad. I like the whole 'burn-her-face-out' thing you've got going."

He just laughed at the way she sounded all serious. "Thanks. I try" he said, stealing her line.

"But ya know... Its amazing the fire department hasn't called yet.. Your entire house smells like burning picture. Its gross"

"Yeah I know. The smell is terrible"

"And your room is going to smell like this for days... That's why you don't do it inside moron"

"Well brat, if you were here instead of wherever the hell you were...this wouldn't have happened."

"How the hell was I supposed to know you were burning pictures, idiot? And besides, I was at work"

"Well dork, instead of us sitting here verbally abusing each other we should go somewhere else before the fire department comes..."

"True twerp. Come on" she said with a grin, standing up and reaching past him for the lighter.

Tai grinned and got the garbage can and brought it with them.

~*~*~*~

The two friends walked down the pier. One with a gleaming lighter and the other with a black garbage can in his hands. They finally reached the end and they sat down, taking off their shoes and socks, letting their legs dangle off the edge.

"Jeez. We finally made it. I forgot how far this place is from my house"

"Oh quit your whining" Sora chuckled as she set her shoes down behind her. 

"Yes dear" Tai said, rolling his eyes. 

They laughed and pulled out each of their respective pictures. There were two piles. 

"Wow. Looks like we're not going anywhere for a while..."

"I don't mind..." Sora said with a smile.

"Me neither...." he smiled back at her.

~*~*~*~

The garbage can was filled with smoldering ashes. Barely little flame was on them to light their faces, but the lamp post a ways behind them did the lighting, along with help from the full moon in front of them.

"Damn... I remember this guy..." Tai said, reaching over into Sora's diminishing pile of pictures and pulling out one of her and a tall light brown haired guy.

"Yeah. He was an asshole too..."

"What was his name again? I forget"

"Uh..." she looked up in thought. "Alan? Yeah. That's Alan" she said, looking down at the picture. 

"Why'd you guys break up?"

"He wanted something that I wouldn't give him. I'm sure you can figure out what the 'something' is." 

"Oh..."

"Yeah." She began to rummage through more of the pictures. "Oh and here's the dick that actually _tried _to force himself on me.... Heh. Lets just say, he cant have kids anymore..." she smirked in satisfaction as she handed Tai the picture.

Tai's head jerked to the left to look at her when he recognized the guy in the picture. "Yamato?" 

She looked at him sadly. "Mmhm."

He sadly and angrily looked back down at the picture of the two of them smiling together. "Did he break your heart Sora?" he asked quietly.

"Yes... He did..." she looked down at the black abyss below them.

Tai slowly began to mumble out a string of curse words when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He let his eyes wander from the picture and meet hers. She looked at him with a saddened expression. She knew what he was planning in his head. 

"Don't Tai... Just... Don't...Please... Its over. It has been for the past year... I don't want to start something up with him again...."

He nodded slowly. "I'm sorry he broke your heart Sora..."

"I'm sorry he did too." she looked back down at the black water. 

Slowly a ripple formed in the black abyss, and bigger ripples followed. Tai knew she was crying. He suddenly became angry and ripped the picture in half down the middle, separating Sora from Matt. He put the picture of Sora to the side and stared at the picture of Matt, his anger swelling inside him. He reached past Sora for the lighter and wasted no time in beginning to burn Matt to ashes....

"Burn fucking son of a bitch...." he growled coldly.

By that time, Tai had his own ripples in the black water as well.

~*~*~*~

The morning light shone in through the open window, blinding Tai as he slowly opened his eyes. He squeezed them shut again, and slowly began to pinch his temple. He cast a quick glance at the alarm clock: 11:30 am. He groaned and slowly began to turn over away from the window. He sighed and tried to get comfortable again. His eyes flashed open a second and closed. Suddenly they snapped open again and his vision fixated on the sleeping Sora at his side. 

A burning blush crept into his cheeks as he watched her laying there, sleeping like an angel. He was relieved that they both had clothes on...meaning that they hadn't done anything out of pity...or just to avoid the feeling of sheer loneliness they both felt without a partner. Because doing anything with those two feelings in mind was just stupid and insignificant...and would totally ruin any feelings of love....

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Love? Tai gaped suddenly at the thought. _Am I serious? I've got to be joking! I'm not in love with Sora... _

He gazed upon her again. He had always wondered what it would be like to wake up with an angel like her by his side... Something only few guys got... And at this point, Tai was convinced that that was something he'd never get...

He wanted someone who he could call his own... That was all that he wanted. Someone to laugh with, dream with, and love...

And who knew who that person was... But he was determined to find her... He wasn't about to live the rest of his life alone... He knew that much...

He looked at Sora again. She had turned on her side towards him during his "deep insight sesh.". He chuckled lightly at the way he labeled his thinking bout. He sighed softly and just stared at her. He wished they could stay like this forever. But he knew that that couldn't be... Especially with the banquet tonight... 

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The banquet... Tai had totally forgot about it. But he didn't want to wake her up... 

She just looked so peaceful there... And beautiful and gorgeous and... He could barely resist the temptation to kiss her pink lips.... 

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Oh my god! Tai thought, a disgusted look taking over his once drooly one.. _Did I just think all that?! _He panicked.

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Relax Tai... You're only human.... A human male _for that matter... _His mind told him. _And yeah, Sora _is _gorgeous. I mean, _look _at her! Come on, admit it...._

He thought for a moment. _Okay...so maybe she's pretty..._

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Pretty?! his mind began to laugh at him. _Are you blind? I think we need to take a trip to the eye doctor there Tai..._

Tai just became confused. _Oh shut up! You're just confusing me_.

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"Oh shut up, you're just confusing me..." Meh meh meh... You're such a girl Tai...

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Am not!

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Are so!

"Tai?" Sora mumbled, interrupting his thoughts.

"Sora! You're awake..."

"Yeah..." she squinted. "What time is it?"

"Uh... 12 I think."

"Oh..." She sat up too quickly only to fall back onto the bed again. "Ow. Remind me not to do that again..."

He laughed. "Alright"

She closed her eyes and put her arm over her eyes. "What time did we get back here last night? I don't even remember." She groaned. "I wasn't drunk was I?"

He laughed. "I don't remember what time either. I wasn't thinking about the time... And no you weren't drunk. Not like we had alcohol to get drunk with..."

"Good. I don't want to see myself when I'm drunk. Its probably not a pretty picture..."

"I bet it is..." he said. "Err...isn't." he added quickly.

Sora was too asleep to even notice his slip. "Did I kick you or anything last night?" 

"No. Not that I know of. I didn't wake you up did I?"

"No. Those damn dogs of your neighbors did."

"Heh. For once I didn't hear them..."

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That's cause you were too busy drooling all over Sora... his mind seemed to smirk at him.

__

Oh shut up... he shot back at it.

"Lucky... Did we burn all the pics last night?"

"Mmhm... And it was fun too" he grinned.

"Most definitely" she smirked. 

"You have fun last night?" Tai said, running his fingers through her hair.

The door opened slightly. 

"Yeah I did. Did you?" She curled up into a ball beside him and had herself set to fall back asleep. 

"Mmhm... We should do it again some time..."

"We should..." she smiled.

"Tai?!" came Kari's shocked gasp as she burst into the room. 

"Kari!?" Tai shrieked. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"What the hell are _you_ doing is more like it" she said, pointing accusingly at the bed.

Both Tai and Sora looked at the bed, then themselves, then jumped out of the bed beginning to blurt out explanations at her.

"Oh. You have clothes on." she said, interrupting them. "Okay. Carry on..." Kari turned around and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Both of them fell backwards onto the bed. "She practically gave me a heart attack!" Tai gasped.

They both just laughed, then blushed like mad when they realized what Kari was accusing them of. 

"Oh jeez..." Sora began, rolling her eyes.

"I'll talk to her later..." Tai muttered.

"You swear she's going to believe you..."

"What, you got a better idea?"

She shrugged and waved her hand. "Knock yourself out. I was only saying..."

"Heh. Stop trying to be a smarty."

She just grinned. "Make me" She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Grr..." he said, before lunging to tickle her to death. "Fine! I will!"

"NO!" Sora cried out, sensing his intentions. She scrambled to get away from him. 

He snickered and snaked his arms around her waist before she could get away, yanking her back towards the bed. She collapsed onto it and he didn't hesitate to straddle her and tickle her mercilessly. They both were laughing like crazy as Sora reached up and began to tickle him back. 

The echoes of their laughter could be heard in the morning air.

~*~*~*~

"Jeez Sora can you take any longer?" Tai called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh shut up Tai! You know I could stay up here and not come down and you can go to your banquet thing all by yourself!" she called back.

"Okay okay!" he muttered. "I'll wait..."

He began to pace nervously by the stairs. 

"Jeez son. Relax" Sora's mom chuckled. "You seem to be as nervous as ever..."

"Its just this tux..."

"Come here. Let me see you"

Tai sheepishly walked towards her. "You look great Tai" she smiled at him, brushing off his shoulders. "Sora will be surprised when she sees you."

"Thanks." he smiled. "Hopefully I'll survive this night and not rip this thing to pieces before the night is over... I hate dressing up..."

"Probably as much as I do" Sora smiled from her place in the middle of the staircase.

Tai turned around towards the direction of the voice. "Sora..." he breathed out.

She stood there, looking as gorgeous as ever... She slowly made her way down the stairs, hanging on to the railing, muttering under her breath how much she despised high heels with a passion.

When she got to the bottom of the staircase was when Tai could look at her better and fully appreciate the dress she had on. She was wearing a long, deep red spaghetti strap dress with black flower vines all over it. He didn't notice it at first, but when she twirled around for him to see the dress, he discovered that the dress had slits in it. Two in fact, on either side of the dress, that went up to her knees. Her hair was up and curled, bobby pinned in place, save for two tendrils that fell alongside her face, accenting it perfectly. 

"What do you think?"

He almost stuttered. "You look great. You really do Sora"

"Thank you" she said, a small smile and a blush creeping across her face. "You don't look half bad yourself."

"Picture time..." Ms. Takenouchi snickered.

Tai and Sora groaned. "No! Please no! _Anything_ but a picture...."

"C'mon guys. One picture. It'll go along with the senior pic adventure. Just think about it that way..."

They looked at each other then sighed in defeat. "Fiine..." they both groaned out.

"Good. Now go on."

They stood together as if they were going to take a standard cute picture. Sora looked up at Tai with an evil gleam in her eyes. He caught her drift and nodded with a grin on his face.

"Okay. Smile guys"

She took the picture. "_Guys!_" she groaned, shaking her head.

  
"Hey, you said it was an adventure mom" Sora said, with a snicker.

"Yeah mom, that's true." Tai chuckled. 

"Yes, but that didn't mean you could pose like that!" she said cracking up.

Tai had dipped Sora with a wink and she had extended her leg out with her arm thrown back. 

"Its better than taking a regular picture. That's not an adventure mom." Tai said, trying to defend themselves.

"Yeah. Those are boring."

"Oh whatever. You two rug rats better hurry up and leave before you're late." she said pushing them out the door with a chuckle. "Why I haven't been driven insane because of the two of you is beyond me."

They laughed and waved goodbye. "See ya mom!"

She leaned in the doorframe. "Have fun you guys!"

~*~*~*~

The banquet was crowded with tons of people from all the guys sports. There were more guys than Sora thought could ever get together in one room. 

__

Not unless there was a stripper in here somewhere.... she chuckled, retracting her previous thought.

Tai signed in and got their table arrangements settled and turned back to Sora. Only to find that she was gone. He looked around him, then up. There she was. Standing at the top of the elaborate marble staircase. 

He looked up at her and his mouth practically hung open. She looked radiant as she stood there, waiting for him. Everyone around him was mumbling about her. He smiled and beamed. That was his Sora up there. The best friend that everyone was raving about. He couldn't help but be proud to have her as his date... 

She motioned for him to go up there. He shook off the trance, a blush creeping in on his face when he realized he was gaping at her. He jogged up the stairs and looked at her. She smiled at him and he returned it, holding out his arm for her. She put her arm in his and together they walked up the remaining stairs to the banquet hall.

~*~*~*~

Sora sat there playing with the little soccer ball key chain they had put on the table, kicking it with her fingers around her area of the table.

"'Scuse me, I believe this is mine" Tai smirked, sticking his own fingers in her area, stealing the little ball away. 

"Hey! That's mines! It was in my spot!" Sora protested, trying to steal the ball away with her fingers.

"Not anymore its not" he said, with a grin, kicking the little ball away from her fingers.

"Grr! You're mean Tai!" 

"I know" he chuckled, kicking it back to her. 

He let their fingers touch. "We just wanted to play...." he said, trying to look innocent.

She looked down at their crossed fingers then slowly looked back up at him. His expression seemed to become softened...almost...vacant... Her eyes slowly blinked and she almost gaped at how mesmerized she had him. Only from...touching fingers and looking at him?

A familiar song broke her gaze. She looked away from him in the general direction of the DJ. Tai fought to snap himself out of whatever the hell he was in.

Sora smiled as she remembered the song. "I know this song... It's pretty. You know how it goes, right?"

He nodded, grateful for the sudden change of mood. "Of course. Remind me though." he grinned.

She sighed and rolled her eyes with a laugh. "Shut up, you just want me to sing it for you."

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a smart one." he laughed. 

"Well I don't want to."

"Of course you do, come on Sora please?"

She sighed. "Fine."

He smiled. "Thanks." He propped his head up with his palm and looked at her as she began to sing softly.

__

"...where should we begin?

Feels like forever...

Within my heart a memory.... 

A perfect love that you gave to me.... 

Oh I remember... 

When you are with me... I'm free.... 

I'm careless...I believe...

Above all the others we'll fly... 

This brings tears to my eyes... 

My sacrifice... 

We've seen our share of ups and downs....

Oh how quickly life can turn around... 

In an instant.. 

It feels so good to reunite... to turn yourself and refuel your mind, its ...there... 

Cause when you're with me... I'm free...

I'm careless... I believe...

Above all the others we'll fly... 

This brings tears to my eyes...

My sacrifice....

When you are with me... I'm free... 

I'm careless... I believe... 

Above all the others we'll fly... 

This brings tears...to my eyes... 

When you are with me... I'm free... 

I'm careless... I believe... 

Above all the others we'll fly... 

This brings tears to my eyes... 

My sacrifice... my sacrifice..."

Their fingers were still entwined. 

~*~*~*~

After the dinner, Tai and Sora just sat there listening to the rather...crappy...music. Suddenly one song in particular came on and it made Sora stand up.

"Where you going?" Tai questioned.

"To dance. Am I allowed to?" she said with a grin.

"Sure. Go ahead. Knock yourself out."

She smiled. "Okay. I'll be back"

He watched her walk away and disappear into the crowd struggling to get down to the dance floor. It wasn't hard to notice her in that red dress of hers. She had made her way to a lonely corner of the dance floor and closed her eyes as she allowed herself to get lost in the beat of the song. It was then that Tai realized that he had never seen her actually dance before... 

His curiosity setting in, he rose from the table and made his way down the stairs into the dance floor below. He stood by along with the other wallflowers and just stared at her.

It took him a bit to recognize the song. It was a song he had heard but once while talking with Sora on the phone. He watched how she carried herself with the song.... She was utterly amazing....

Her arms were stretched over her head a little, her eyes closed and she just kind of swayed slowly to the beat of the song. She mouthed out the words to the song, refusing to let her voice sing it out loud. People suddenly began to take interest in her and how she was dancing. But she was oblivious, totally lost in the song to even notice their gapes. 

Tai couldn't help but gape at her as well. Here she was, practically seducing every single guy on the dance floor with the way she moved... He couldn't help but be a typical guy and gape along with the rest of them. 

"God.... She's...." the words couldn't even escape the guy's lips. Tai just looked at him as if he was crazy; he was practically drooling! 

He didn't even notice the song ending...or the fact that Sora was standing right in front of him with her hand extended out for his. Everyone just looked at them.

  
"C'mon Tai. Dance with me. Might be fun" she said, with a wink.

"I...don't dance Sora... You know that."

"Neither do I; that's the fun part" she grinned, taking his hands in hers and pulling him towards the dance floor.

"I am going to kill you for this, you do know that right?"

"Oh I'm well aware of that."

"Then why the hell are you still dragging me out here?"

"To defy you" she smirked.

"I figured." 

__

It's taken much too long 

To get it right

Would it be so wrong

To maybe find someone

A miracle

She stopped and pulled him close to her, placing his hands in the right place before letting hers rest on his shoulders. He tensed as they slowly began to sway to the song along with the rest of the couples.

"What are you afraid of?" she said almost a whisper, allowing their foreheads to touch.

"That I might like this..." his eyes slipped shut.

"Would that be such a bad thing?" she allowed hers to slip shut as well.

"I don't know... Would it be?"

"Maybe...Maybe not..."

__

And all you really need 

Is everything you could never be

And so you'd give it all

For a miracle

After that, a long silence followed. They just swayed together, their eyes shut. Slowly, Tai began to relax as Sora's arms moved from his shoulders to around his neck. 

__

Is there a trace

Inside her face

Of a lonely miracle?

And so you wait

And lie awake

For a lonely miracle

He gently pulled her closer to him and she nuzzled his neck a little. 

"Tai?"

"Yeah Sora?"

You never really know 

What it is

Not until it goes

And if it comes again

Its a miracle

"Nothing. I was just checking to see if you were still alive"

"Barely...."

"Oh? Why?"

Silence. He just looked at her, and she looked at him and blinked in confusion, waiting for his response.

__

But what you miss is love

In everything below and up above

And could she bring it all

A miracle

"Tai?" she questioned.

"Nothing. I was being sarcastic...." he lied. 

"Oh." she laughed nervously. "I should have known better...."

"Right..." he said, looking away from her. 

__

Tai. You officially are an idiot. I cant believe you just did that! his mind yelled at him. 

Sora sighed and put her hands back on his shoulders again. She looked to the floor and just danced mechanically like the rest of them were. Before she had put some feeling into it. Now it was just...a chore. She felt so stupid; like she had just tried to give herself to him but he didn't want her... She felt like crying, it was that bad. He had hurt her feelings...unknowingly of course.... But she was still hurt. 

What was she saying?! She couldn't possibly give herself to anyone... Not now... Not after--

She swallowed and nodded in agreement with her mind. There was no way she was going to get herself in a relationship now. Not after.... Yama...

She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. He had been her last boyfriend. After him, it was like she had turned love off. She wanted nothing to do with it. She had the mindset that she would never find true love and happiness. She would never know what it would be like to _feel_ not lust... She was right... All those years ago...she had been right....

She was incapable of true love. 

Sora was on the verge of tears. But she forced them back as she had always done time after time.... And continued to dance. 

~*~*~*~

Tai yawned. He casually glanced over at Sora who seemed to be rigid in her chair. He looked at her strangely before tapping her shoulder.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine... Just _freezing_." she muttered crossing her arms to keep warm. 

"Oh. Why didn't you say so before?" he took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders. "There. That better?"

"Yeah. Thanks." she looked back to the stage where some coach of something was giving a speech.

Tai let his eyes go back to the stage. He allowed his eyes to close dramatically and open back up again. 

"This is so _boring..._" he groaned.

"You're the one who wanted to come. You know how boring these things are..."

"I have to come! It's mandatory. Coach made it that way this season"

She shrugged. "Then deal."

"Jeez. Someone's a little cold..."

"No, not cold, try freezing." she joked, a small smile crossing her face.

He let out a little laugh and grinned a little. "Right."

The coach finally finished his speech. Tai barely clapped along with Sora. He leaned over to her. "Hey, what do you say we leave this party...."

"But you'll get in trouble..." she protested.

"No I wont... Come on. We're only going to go outside for a minute. That way you wont freeze to death. What do you say?"

"Are you sure you wont get in trouble?"

"Positive." 

She sighed. "Fine. Okay, we'll go. But if you get in trouble, its not my fault."

"Deal. Come on"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the chair. They both ducked by tables, sneaking towards the stairs and practically running down them to avoid getting caught. 

"Presenting the next award for best soccer rookie, our own Taichi Kamiya..."

People applauded. Tai stopped at the end of the stairs. "Oh shit...."

__

"Tai? Uh...Tai?"

"What?" Sora asked.

"I forgot!" he smacked his forehead. "I'm supposed to be presenting the next award! Those bastards they said they'd come get me when--"

"Don't just stand there, run for it!" she yelled, interrupting him. 

They both ran for the revolving doors as fast as their legs could carry them.

~*~*~*~

The door to the garden flew open and the two teens practically stumbled into the grass laughing. 

"Oh goodness. We almost got caught!"

"I cant believe someone actually chased us. I hope they cant find us..."

"Oh trust me Tai. They could find us if they want to. They just chose not to."

"I suppose... Oh well. I hope I don't get in trouble."

"Your fault member?"

He laughed. "Yeah, yeah I know."

"So what are we doing here again?"

"Keeping you warm."

"Speaking of which, here's your jacket. After our little work out, I'm hot"

He took the jacket and laid it on the bench beside him. "Ditto"

She sat down on the bench in front of him and looked up. "God... Look at them... They're beautiful..."

He looked up. "I know..."

"I like watching them..." she continued, not noticing he even said anything. "Just staring at them at night 

before I go to sleep... I don't know any of the constellations, but its okay... I like looking at them anyway." 

He smiled at her. "Yeah. I only know a few. Kari and I used to come out at night too to look at them... We don't do that much anymore..." he laughed. "Guess we're too old for that."

"Nah. I could never get too old for it" she said, looking at him with a smile. "I'm very easy to please."

"Just as easy to displease..." he grinned.

"Oh shut up..." she grinned.

Suddenly, they were silent. Sora smiled a little then looked down at the ground beside her feet, staring at the little blooms that had peeked under the bench from the grass behind her. 

"So--"

"You kn--" 

They laughed a little. They had interrupted each other.

"What? You go first. Mine wasn't really anything important" she said, looking at him. 

"Err. Well...okay...." He sighed. "Sora... I just wanted to tell you thanks... I guess. Yes. Thank you for 

everything."

"You're welcome" she nodded.

"These past couple of days we spent together has been really great you know... I mean I don't remember 

when the last time we hung out together was."

She laughed nervously. "Last weekend..."

"No. I mean like... _really_ hang out. Not like to the movies or something, you know?"

"Oh... Mmhm." she eyed the blooms again.

"And...well... I like this. I like hanging out with you. You're tons of fun to be with... And sometimes... I 

don't ever want to leave your side..."

She looked up from the floor to him, stiffening at the same time. She just stayed quiet.

"And when you asked me earlier....while we were dancing...about what I was afraid of? And how I said that I could like it... Well, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing...."

"Oh god..." she breathed out, looking down to the floor in dreaded anticipation.

He was totally oblivious. "I guess... I guess what I'm trying to say--"

"Tai...don't do this to me..." she whispered, standing up slowly.

Deep down inside, she had longed for this moment to come for so long, but she found that when it finally happened...she didn't really want it to come anymore. If only it had been three years ago, before she went inside the stadium with those cookies... But now? There were too many complications that could arise, and the risk of heartbreak was too great... Her mind dished out a hundred reasons why the next words that were to come out of Tai's mouth would be the worst ones she'd ever heard... The one that stuck with her was the plain and simple fact: She had been hurt one time too many. 

Sora walked over to him and looked up into his eyes. "I--" he began. 

She cut him off with a finger to his lips. "Don't ruin this Tai..." she said softly. 

"Sora--" he said dejectedly. She took her finger from his lips.

"Don't..." she repeated softly, shaking her head. 

She looked at him for a moment before turning away from him. It was quiet for a moment before she finally spoke. 

"Have you ever been in love Tai? Its terrible isn't it? It makes you so unbelievably vulnerable. It opens up your heart and leaves you there, defenseless, so someone can get inside you, inside your heart, and screw you up. You build up all these defenses too. You build this giant _wall_ to block out everyone, _everything_, to protect yourself, so that no one will hurt you. But then one day, this _one_ person, who is absolutely no different than any other stupid person in this world, suddenly walks into your life.... 

"And something happens. You give them a tiny piece of yourself. They don't ask you for it, but you give it to them anyways. And then one day they do something stupid like confess their love for you or kiss you and then your life isn't your own anymore.

She turned back around to face him. "Love isn't nice Tai; its cruel. It gets inside of you; friendly at first so you don't notice it. But then over time, it gets bored of you. So it eats you inside out and when its done, leaves you there, crying in the darkness because of simple phrases like 'maybe we should just be friends' or 'I'm in love with someone else' that it creates so it can finish you off--a glass splinter works its way into your heart; shattering you to pieces. It _hurts _Tai. Not just a hurt that invents itself in your mind, but _real _hurt. Pain that shreds you to pieces and leaves you with the mentality that something's wrong with you, that you're incapable of loving or being loved. 

"And I _hate_ it. I hate love."

She just stared at him for a moment or two before turning and walking away from him.

"Sora" he called after her. She stopped. "I'm sorry that you're hurt... I'm sorry to hear you say that... I thought we could--"

She was close to tears and angry, which was a terrible combination. "I don't need your sympathy..." she interrupted. "And I'm sorry I have to let you down, but I cant--I cant love you!" she told him finally. Her eyes widened when she realized what she had said and she fell to her knees sobbing out "I'm sorry" over and over again.

"What's wrong with you?" he yelled, interrupting her. "God Sora, listen to yourself! You're beating yourself up over something that's not even your fault! You not loving me is _not_ your fault!"

She turned around fast, the tears streaming down her face. "Of course its my fault; its because I let myself love _him first_!" She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, biting her lip. 

Tai froze and just looked at her. "W--What...?"

"Nothing. Forget I said it." she said, struggling to regain control of herself. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

"I cant just forget that..." he said, kneeling in front of her and placing his hands on her shoulders. He lifted her chin with his fingers and looked into her tear-soaked eyes. "You love me...don't you?" His eyes squinted as if they were trying to see something that wasn't visible. "Something's... something's just holding you back..."

She shivered under his gaze. His eyes had looked into hers and pierced through her to her soul. She let her gaze fall to the floor. "Tai...you don't know what you're talking about...." 

"Yama..." he breathed in realization. "It was him, wasn't it? The one that made you lose faith.... Its because of him that you cant--"

"Tai...I told you to forget it." She had tried to put some sternness into her words, but it had left her. He knew everything now... He had read the words straight from her soul. She didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't know whether to feel raped or elated. There was no point to try and hide it any further because he knew the truth... 

"And I already told you that I _can't_!" he looked at her again. "Don't you get it Sora? _I love you_..." 

Silence fell over the two of them. Tai let go of her shoulders and looked to the stone pathway beneath his knees. 

"Sora, listen to me. Its true that you've been hurt in more ways than I can count. You were forced to grow up faster than normal because your dad left your mom. You've had to work more hours than an average adult to help pay your damn bills. You've had to put up with all your mom's crap for your whole life. And yet that's not all.

"You were left broken-hearted by Alan and a few others because it was then that you learned that all guys are a bunch of sick bastards. 

"You jumped from guy to guy in order to find some slither of true love and companionship. True, with some you found companionship, but there was no love for you in those relationships. You were left hollow, utterly empty inside and your soul yearned for love.

"That's when Yamato came along. Friend for a long time that slowly turned to more. He was almost _perfect_. You two were so in love.... But then came the drugs...

"I had always figured that he would turn to drugs to find his way out of his problems...being in his little rock band was stressful... And I was....somewhat accepting of his decision...but you weren't. So you were going to leave him, but then, blinded by love, you changed your mind.

"When I first learned that he hit you and forced himself on you Sora, my world went upside down. I wanted to hurt him, make him pay dearly for what he had done to you. I don't care who it is, no one does that to you and gets away with it, Sora. I make sure of that.

"So I paid him a little visit. I'm not really sure what was going through my mind that night. I don't even know if I was really all there. But that night, I knew what I had to do. There was only one thing to do. I went to a local club where he was playing at and I got him alone; cornered him. I brought out my blade and threatened to kill him if he didn't leave you by the following weekend. He didn't think I was serious, so I left him with a reminder of how serious I was."

Sora's eyes widened. She had always known that Tai would do practically anything to protect her...but she didn't know he'd go that far. "The cut on his face...that was you?"

"Yes...It was."

"So you--you--"

He lifted her chin with his fingers and looked into her confused eyes. She stared up into his and she could tell they were pained. She knew that he didn't want to tell her all this, but she saw that he felt he had to. 

"The reason I cried last night when I asked you if he had broken your heart was because in reality..._I _ was the one who had broken your heart..." His eyes welled up with tears. "I'm sorry I did it... Maybe I didn't realize how much you loved him at the time. But you have to believe me, I was only trying to protect you."

"Why?" she asked finally after a silence, her voice quivering slightly. 

He let his gaze meet hers and he winced at what he saw. She was looking at him through tear-soaked eyes. Her cheeks were stained with countless trails of which tears had traveled down them. And her lips were quivering with every shuddering breath she took in. He had killed her; tormented her soul to a point where she now remained broken. _Him. Tai._ It was his own fault that this was happening to her. He blindly blamed Yamato as if he had caused all this. But who was the one who threatened to kill him? 

Who was the one that destroyed Sora's _soul_?

He didn't notice it when the tears started to fall from his cheeks to the stone pavers below. He didn't notice anything else but the girl in front of him; the one who's soul he'd ripped to shreds with his own bare hands.

"Why Sora? Because I wasn't blinded by love to see what Yamato was putting you through. But its not about him anymore Sora. I did it because I didn't want you to get hurt. I wanted to save you from the cruelties of this world. I didn't want you to see how cold and heartless the world really is. You may not have noticed it before...but ever since we were kids, I'd do that for you; I'd protect you from all the obscene. And I guess... I guess I just wanted to do it again..."

Sora remained quiet. Unable to move, unable to think. She knew now that Tai was the one who had caused her all this pain that had haunted her for the past year. And yet, she felt nothing now. Absolutely nothing. Only empty inside, yearning for something to fill her up and make her feel whole again.

Maybe she should have become cold and heartless and send Tai out of her life forever the way Yamato did to her. But she couldn't. Something... Something was keeping her there...

"How do you know all this? How can you see this in me Tai? How can you see all that around you? I--I don't understand..."

"I know because I was _there_ Sora. I've always been there even though you may not have noticed it sometimes. And even when I haven't, I still know... Because when I look into your eyes, something happens... and suddenly your soul appears in your eyes... and I know..."

Sora blinked in shock. "Soulmate..." she breathed out suddenly, her eyes widening.

"....What?"

She mentally kicked herself for saying that aloud. She hadn't meant for it to slip out like that, but with the shock of what he said being what it was, she couldn't help it. 

"Soulmate" she said again. "Your grandmother used to tell me about them. She said that everyone has one somewhere out in this great big world of ours. You never know where you'll find them. Always in unexpected places at unexpected times in your life....At times where you think you'll never be loved or ever love again...." her voice trailed off.

"The eyes are the windows to the soul..." she said. "He who can see and know is truly something not to be looked over."

Suddenly, as if by some impulse, she looked into his eyes and saw something there within the chocolate orbs of his eyes. It was hard to make out, so she squinted a little, trying to make out what was dancing in the mists behind his eyes. It was an angel... The angel of miracles... A miracle had come to him, but she wasn't sure exactly what the miracle was. 

That is, until she saw that the angel bore her face. 

So she smiled, despite herself, and saw that slowly, a smile of Tai's own was forming. He understood what she had done and couldn't help but smile himself. 

And that was all it took.

~*~*~*~

I'm not so sure what happened that night in the gardens when she smiled at me. Maybe she healed her wounded soul. Or perhaps you could say we healed each other. But whatever happened, it was something supernatural; it was almost as if destiny pushed us to such an extreme as to cause us to nearly fall apart with each others words but then to heal in each others eyes. I knew, suddenly, as her eyes found mine exactly what grandma was saying through Sora. She was saying that Sora was my soulmate. 

I don't really remember much after our eyes met that night. The world suddenly became an euphoric dizzy haze. I had never experienced such a sensation, but I quickly learned that I had been horribly deprived. Being in that state of euphoria is something I'll never soon forget. Especially because of who caused it.

Miss Sora Takenouchi herself.

Today marks the two year anniversary from when her eyes told me that she loved me. And my world still continues to be that euphoric dizzy haze. I never thought I'd ever feel this way...with anyone... And yet here I am. Two years later, and I'm not hallucinating. Its very real.

And I owe it all to her.

My Miracle. 

~*~*~*~

This fic featured music from:

Creed with _My Sacrifice_

~And~

Vertical Horizon with _Miracle_


End file.
